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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Ben & Jerry's Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream

I don't normally review the handful of Scoop Shop-only flavors that Ben & Jerry's produces. The main reason is that until relatively recently, we didn't have a Scoop Shop close enough to me -- and the one that we have now is still not all that close.

So, Gigi, you ask, what made you go out of your way for this one? One word: whiskey. Gigi happens to really like whiskey flavored items.

Bonnaroo Buzz gets its name in honor of the yearly Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival going on in Manchester, Tennessee, from June 10th-13th. (Check out the official website for more information than I am going to provide.) Basically, it is sort of like a Woodstock or Coachella thing, only deep fried and set in the South. If you're anywhere near the 700 acre farm it takes place on, you can see such big acts as Norah Jones, Tori Amos, Dave Matthews, Conan O'Brian, and Steve Martin, playing with his banjo band. I would love to go, but there are two big things preventing me:

1. It's in Tennessee and I am more than half a continent away, and

2. They recommend you bring your own TP.

Now guys, I am really not all that fussy. I don't need four star accommodations and huge, down-filled king sized beds to be happy (although that seriously helps). I can even deal with lack of internet access without getting too twitchy (but only if my phone can still get service...I love you, my sweet little Crackberry). I even might be able to deal with the funk that is thousands of hippies drawn to one place. No, people -- what kills it for me is bathroom facilities that I am suggested to bring my own "accessories" to.

So, while you won't find me personally at Bonnaroo, I will be enjoying the mellow, good vibes that I hope to find wafting off my scoop of ice cream.

Bonnaroo Buzz is a coffee and malt flavored base ice cream with English toffee pieces, and a whiskey-caramel swirl.

So, was it good enough to make me consider hitting the road with a twelve-pack of Charmin?

Yeah, you know what? It was!

I know that the two ice cream flavors were blended, because I could see the two different flavors swirled together. But in terms of taste, what really shone through was the coffee. It was indeed a very light and sweet coffee. As if you drank your lattes the way I do, with a lot of milk and roughly a pound of Splenda (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration).

The toffee chunks aren't mere...well, chunks. No, they're more than that. Even by Ben & Jerry's generous standards, they are slabs! Seriously. Just take a look at this thing:

It's the buttery, rich toffee you expect from Ben & Jerry's. There are also little pieces of fudge. By the time the pictures were taken and I actually got to eat my ice cream, it was pretty melty -- so I honestly can't tell you if the fudge pieces fell off of the toffee, or if they were separately mixed into the ice cream. The store was far too busy to go back and ask anyone about that, so perhaps someone who got a better look at the ice cream (or someone from Ben & Jerry's) will chime in with the answer to that question?

In any event, we all know how I feel about the fudge. It's not bad...but it's not chocolate.

What really makes this flavor is the swirl (although the toffee and the ice cream itself are pretty darn good). The swirl is a whiskey-caramel swirl. My swirl was nice and fluid by the time I ate my cone. It tasted mostly of the caramel, but there was definitely that woodsy, smokey, slightly vanilla flavor of whiskey. I really wish there had been more of the swirl. A lot more, come to think of it. In fact, I kinda want a vat of it.

I only have one real complaint with this flavor: it really should have been a pint flavor. It is just too good to be Scoop Shop only.

This is a super limited flavor -- it'll only be around for a brief time, and it's only available in the Scoop Shops. But track it down, anyway. It's well worth it!

PURCHASED FROM:Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop

PRICE:Free!

CALORIES: I'm pretty sure that since it was cost free, it should also be calorie free. (OK, probably not.)OFFICIAL WEBSITE:benjerry.com